Pruning-shears.



No. 660,288. Patented Oct. 23, 1900. 1 P. BRDADBOOKS.

PRUNING SHEARS.

(Application filed Sept. 19, 1899.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PETER BROADBOOKS, OF BATAVIA, NEW YORK, 'ASS IGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHNH.lVARD, OF SAME PLACE.

PRUNlNG-SHEARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 660,288, dated October23, 1900.

Application filed September 19, 1899. serial No. 731,004. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, PETER BROADBOOKS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bata via, in the county of Genesee and State of New York,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Pruning-Shears, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in pruning-shearsand the like,

to and has for one object to provide an exceed ingly simple andeffective device of this de-' scription which shall be strong anddurable, the cutter-blade and book being made separate from the handlesand of different-grade metal; and a further object of my invention is toso arrange the spring utilized for opening the shears as to give it along elastic movement, thus preventing it from setting; and a stillfurther object ofmyinvention is to provide a locking-pawl which whencarried into engagement with a notch formedin the back of the hook willhold the shears closed, but when out of engagement with this notch willin no'wise interfere with the operation of the shears.

With these ends in view this invention consists in the details ofconstruction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth, and thenspecifically designated by the claims.

0 In order that thoseskilled in the art to which this inventionappertains may understand how to make and use the same, the constructionand operation will now be described in detail, referringto theaccompanying draw- 5 ings, forming a part of this specification, inwhich i f Figure 1 is a side elevation of a pair of shears made inaccordance with my improvement, the same being opened; Fig. 2, a sectionof c the shears in their closed position; Fig. 3, a

bottom edge view.

In carrying out my invent-ion as here embodied A and B represent thehandles, which are preferably made of soft steel and so shaped 5 as toprovide a convenient hold for the hand, and these handles are pivotedtogether by the screw-bolt G, and each has an extension D for thepurpose hereinafter set forth.

E represents the hook, which is also pivoted upon the screw-bolt O andis secured to the so lower extension D by the screw-bolt G, thus beingmade rigid with said extension, so as to move therewith as one piece.

F is the cutter-blade, which is likewise piv oted upon the screw-bolt Oand is attached to the upper extension D by the screw-bolt H, causing itto move with the handle B. By

this arrangement the cutter-bladeaud hook may be made of high-gradesteel and properly hardened and tempered to produce the most desiredresults, while at the same time they are backed up by the extensions D,so as to prevent them from springing sidewisewhen in use, which isusually the most serious defect in pruning-shears, as such side 6 5strains are considerable. 7

By making each handle with one extension and of the same shape it willbe seen that they may be manufactured by a single die, and the reversingthereof will cause them to properly come together to form thepivot-joint.

The spring I has its inner end secured at J within the handle A, whileits outer end is attached at K to the cutter-blade, by which arrangementthe spring lies within the handle and in no wise interferes with thehand of the operator and affords a long elastic movement, which makesthe operation of the shears easy.

The ring L projects from the handle B and acts as a guard for one of thefingers, which facilitates the operation of the shears. This ring may beeither-formed of a separate piece and attached, as shown, or it maybepressed outward from the stock of the'handle either in the form hereshown or as a hook.

The hook E has a notch M in the back thereof, with which the pawl Nisadapted to engage, the latter being pivotedatO, so as to swing sidewise,and when this pawl is 0 swung into engagement with the notch the shearswill be held in their closed position, as, shown in Figs. 2 and 3; butwhen the pawl is thrown out of engagement with the notch, as shown indotted lines in Fig. 3, the shears will be free to be operated in theusual manner, the pawl in no wise interfering with such operation. Thisis an important feature of my improvement, since by holding the shearsin their closed position they maybe easily stored or carried in thepocket.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and usefulis 1. A pair of pruning-shears consisting of two sheet-metal handlespivoted together each having an extension, a hook, and a cutter bladepivoted together at the fulcrum of the handles each being attached toone of the extensions, as specified.

2. A pair of pruning-shears consisting of two handles formed of sheetmetal each having an extension, said handles being pivoted together bythe screw-bolt, a hook and a cut ter-blade pivoted upon said screw-boltand rigidly attached to the extension, and a spring connected with oneof the handles and with the cutter-blade, as and for the purpose setforth.

3. In combination, two sheet-metal handles pivoted together by thescrew-bolt, an extension formed with each of the handles, a hook rigidlysecured to one of the extensions and pivoted upon said screw-bolt, acutter-blade rigidly secured to the opposite extension and pivoted uponsaid screw-bolt, a spring one end of which is attached to thecutter-blade, the other being attached to one of the bandles, and a pawlpivoted to the opposite handie and adapted to enter into engagement withthe notch formed upon the rear of the hook whereby the shears may beheld closed, as specified.

4. In combination two sheet-metal handles pivoted together, an extensionformed with each handle, a hook having a notch in the back thereofrigidly secured to one of the extensions, a cutter-blade rigidly securedto the opposite extension, and a transversely-swinging pawl pivoted toone of the handles and adapted to enter into engagement with the notchformed upon the hook, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto atfixed my signature in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

PETER BROADBOOKS.

Witnesses:

CARLOS A. HULL, G. H. H LDEN.

